Even with nearly three months to go until the beginning of the 2024-25 regular season, there's plenty of reason for anticipation among Vancouver Canucks fans. Coming off a campaign which went better than predicted, general manager Patrik Allvin used free agency to work on improving the roster and making them a consistent contender for years to come.
Canucks fans have been given more reason for excitement, after The Athletic recently predicted (subscription required) they would at least replicate their success of this past season. Certainly, when one of the most reputable sports media outlets in the industry today thinks highly of you, it has to count for something.
There was also the recent release of the schedule for next season, which will further whet the appetite for fans. High on the list is undoubtedly their three games with the Edmonton Oilers, a team which went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, but the Canucks more than matched up well with.
On top of all of this, there are several Canucks who are on the verge of reaching significant franchise milestones during the 2024-25 campaign. Here are four players and the marks they are hoping to reach next season:
Thatcher Demko - Career wins
It doesn't feel like Thatcher Demko has been around that long and yet here he is, already within shooting distance of third place on the all-time wins list for Canucks goalies. He currently sits on 116 wins, just 10 behind Richard Brodeur on 126.
However, assuming Demko catches and surpasses Brodeur next season -- which he will do barring a major injury -- he then has quite a mountain still to climb. Kirk McLean is second with 211 wins and number one is, who else, but Roberto Luongo with 252 wins.
Quinn Hughes - Most points by a D-Man
You could almost assign the nickname of baby-faced assassin when it comes to Quinn Hughes, with his innocent looks belying the dangerous threat he poses to opponents on the ice. He's coming off a season where he lead all NHL defencemen with a career-high 92 points, with his assists and total points also being the most ever in a single campaign for a Canucks' blueliner.
Next on the agenda for Hughes is becoming the Canucks' all-time leader in points by a defencemen, with him currently in second place on 333. It won't be a walk in the park (on the ice), but there's a strong chance that next season he can catch Alex Edler, who currently leads the way with 409 points.
Brock Boeser - Moving up the goal-scoring charts
It was obviously a tough ending to this past season for Brock Boeser, with a blood clot issue keeping him out of the deciding game seven versus the Oilers in round two. Of course, the main things is that it wasn't life-threatening, and he gets to resume his career in 2024-25, with an eye on the top 10 for Canucks all-time goal scorers.
After scoring a career-high 40 goals in 2023-24, Boeser now finds himself on 179 goals and within touching distance of Alex Burrows, who is 10th with 193. It's also worth noting he's within reach of Thomas Gradin in ninth place with 197 goals, and Bo Horvat in eighth place on 201 goals.
Elias Pettersson - Top 10 for assists
Finally we come to Elias Pettersson, who had an up-and-down 2023-24 campaign. At one point he was well on the way to surpassing his 102 points from a season earlier, before crashing and subsequently blaming it on a knee injury which the Cancucks believe was overblown.
Regardless, Pettersson finds himself on 242 assists as things stand, well within reach of André Boudrias, who is 10th on the Canucks all-time list with 267 helpers. For what it's worth, Dennis Kearns and Hughes are tied-eighth with 290 assists, but he only has a chance at catching one of them next season. (We trust we don't need to give you a clue as to who we're talking about.)
NB: All statistics are provided courtesy of Hockey Reference